http://subs.zinester.com/87528 A fortnightly ezine sharing Native American Myths and Legends. en http://archives.zinester.com/87528/134881.html?rss=1                          PLAYING A TRICK ON THE MOON

Long ago, Snoqualm, or Moon, was chief of the heavens. One day he said to
Spider, "Make a rope of cedar bark and stretch it from the earth to the sky."

Soon Fox and Blue Jay found the rope and climbed up it. Late at night they came
to the place where it was fastened to the underside of the sky. Blue Jay picked
a hole in the sky, and the two of them crawled through. Blue Jay flew to a
tree, and Fox found himself in a lake. There he changed himself into Beaver.
Moon had set a trap in the lake, and Beaver got caught in the trap. Next
morning Moon took Beaver out of the trap, skinned him, stretched his skin out
to dry, and threw the body into the corner of the smokehouse.

The next night Beaver waited until Moon was asleep and snoring loudly. Then he
got up, took his skin from the place where it was stretching, and put it back
... ]]> 134881 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:38:11 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/133322.html?rss=1                          The Men Of The Early Times
Eight years was but four days and four nights when the world was new. It was
while such days and nights continued that men were led out, in the night-shine
of the World of Seeing.
For even when they saw the great star, they thought it the Sun-father himself,
it so burned their eye-balls.
Men and creatures were more alike then than now. Our fathers were black, like
the caves they came from; their skins were cold and scaly like those of mud
creatures; their eyes were goggled like an owl's; their ears were like those of
cave bats; their feet were webbed like those of walkers in wet and soft places;
they had tails, long or short, as they were old or young.
Men crouched when they walked, or crawled along the ground like lizards. They
feared to walk straight, but crouched as before time they had in their cave
worlds, that they might not stumble or fall in the uncertain light.
When the morning star arose, they blinked excessively when they beheld its
... ]]> 133322 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:14:17 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/131995.html?rss=1                                Lady's Slippers

A certain village was visited by a dreaded disease. Even the medicine man died;
and with his death all hope vanished.
Although the delivery of messages in winter was unheard of and had never before
been attempted the chief asked his mizhinihway (messenger) to go to the next
village for some medicines.
In those days each chief had a messenger who delivered notices and messages to
distant places. Journeys even in summer were difficult; unheard of during the
winter when there were no moccasins.
Nevertheless Koo-Koo-Lee prepared to go. But like the rest, he too fell ill.
His wife, anxious for his life, left the lodge and slipped out into the cold.
Oblivious to the cold, almost indifferent to the snow crusts, and anxious only
to get medicines for her husband and the people of her village, Koo-Koo-Lee's
wife ran swiftly over the drifts.
... ]]> 131995 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:44:13 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/129501.html?rss=1                            Porcupine Hunts Buffalo

In olden days when mostly animals roamed this earth, a Porcupine set out to
track some buffalo. He asked the buffalo chips, "How long have you been here on
this trail?" He kept on asking, until finally one answered, "Only lately have I
been here." From there Porcupine followed the same path. The farther he went,
the fresher the tracks. He continued until he came to a river; there he saw a
buffalo herd that had crossed the ford onto the other side. "What shall I do
now?" thought Porcupine as he sat down. He called out, "Carry me across!"

One of the buffalo replied, "Do you mean me?" Porcupine called again, "No, I
want a different buffalo." Thus he rejected each member of the herd, one after
another, as each asked. "Do you mean me?" Finally the last and best one in the
herd said, "I will carry you across the river." The buffalo crossed the river
and said to porcupine, "Climb on my back." Porcupine said, "No, I'm afraid I
... ]]> 129501 Sun, 20 May 2007 02:24:11 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/129500.html?rss=1                               The Magic Arrows

There was once a young man who wanted to go on a journey. His mother provided
him with sacks of dried meat and pairs of moccasins, but his father said to
him: "Here, my son, are four magic arrows. When you are in need, shoot one of
them!" The young man went forth alone, and hunted in the forest for many days.
Usually he was successful, but a day came when he was hungry and could not find
meat.

Then he sent forth one of the magic arrows, and at the end of the day there lay
a fat Bear with the arrow in his side. The hunter cut out the tongue for his
meal, and of the body of the Bear he made a thank-offering to the Great
Mystery. Again he was in need, and again in the morning he shot a magic arrow,
and at nightfall beside his camp-fire he found an Elk lying with the arrow in
his heart. Once more he ate the tongue and offered up the body as a sacrifice.
... ]]> 129500 Sun, 06 May 2007 02:26:15 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/127473.html?rss=1                          How the Fly Saved the River

Many, many years ago when the world was new, there was a beautiful river. Fish
in great numbers lived in this river, and its water was so pure and sweet that
all the animals came there to drink. A giant moose heard about the river and he
too came there to drink. But he was so big, and he drank so much, that soon the
water began to sink lower and lower. The beavers were worried. The water around
    their lodges was disappearing. Soon their homes would be destroyed. The
muskrats were worried, too. What would they do if the water vanished? How could
they live? The fish were very worried. The other animals could live on land if
the water dried up, but they couldn't. All the animals tried to think of a way
to drive the moose from the river, but he was so big that they were too afraid
 to try. Even the bear was afraid of him. At last the fly said he would try to
drive the moose away. All the animals laughed and jeered. How could a tiny fly
  frighten a giant moose? The fly said nothing, but that day, as soon as the
... ]]> 127473 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:53:09 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/127472.html?rss=1                         The Legend of the Bear Family

                                   Penobscot

     The story concerning the Bear family was revealed through a descendant of
     the original hero of the following tale. He owned a very old powder horn
    bearing an incised representation of his mother, who was a Bear, seated in
      the bow of a canoe travelling to the hunting grounds with her husband.

      Many, many generations ago, a Penobscot, his wife, and their little son
     started out from their village to go to Canada. They were from Penobscot
    Bay, bound for a great council and dance to be held at the Iroquois village
      of Caughnawaga. They went upriver to the point where they had to make a
      20-mile portage to reach another river that would take them to the St.
                                     Lawrence.
... ]]> 127472 Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:54:11 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/119376.html?rss=1 A few weeks ago, this lovely piece written by a very dear and talented friend
 of mine was sent out in this ezine.   I mistakenly assumed Wahela had emailed
 me a legend (as a lot of people do at times) and not realising it is in fact
her own work published it without giving due credit.   My sincere apologies to
 Wahela for this.  I do hope readers realise that the Legends posted here are
 just that, mostly legends freely available in a lot of places.  However other
    works will have the authors name attached - those works are subject to
    copyright and permission from the author must be obtained before being
                           published anywhere else.

 The link I have been placing at the bottom of the page is to my own personal
  website.   It will not be placed there any longer as people are assuming my
site is Native American and attached to this ezine when in fact it is not.  My
site is Celtic/Wiccan and while I have Shawnee/Delaware ancestry and walk both
roads in my personal beliefs, there is nothing on my site that claims I am any
... ]]> 119376 Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:18:19 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/119069.html?rss=1 Lady's Slippers

                             An Ojibwa Legend

A certain village was visited by a dreaded disease. Even the medicine man died;
and with his death all hope vanished.
Although the delivery of messages in winter was unheard of and had never before
been attempted the chief asked his mizhinihway (messenger) to go to the next
village for some medicines.
In those days each chief had a messenger who delivered notices and messages to
distant places. Journeys even in summer were difficult; unheard of during the
winter when there were no moccasins.
Nevertheless Koo-Koo-Lee prepared to go. But like the rest, he too fell ill.
His wife, anxious for his life, left the lodge and slipped out into the cold.
Oblivious to the cold, almost indifferent to the snow crusts, and anxious only
... ]]> 119069 Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:27:09 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/117692.html?rss=1                     Spider teaches about the web of life

The Grandfather walked out to an open area along the stream this early morning
as the Sun was rising to warm the earth. There, Grandfather said his prayers
and took this quiet time to listen to the silent Windspeakers voice. This
morning, Grandfather didn't notice that the young one had followed his path
through tall grasses. As Grandfather finished his prayers, he sat upon the
Earth and leaned his back against one of the Tree People. (Cottonwood trees)
Cracking noises in the leaves and twigs behind him brought his attention back
to the present moment. He caught glimpses of the top of the young one's
head peering up through the willows to see what his Grandfather was doing there
by the stream.



... ]]> 117692 Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:10:19 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/115249.html?rss=1                               A Winter's Count

As the cold winter winds blew that night, Cloud
Feather had no idea
what lay ahead. The winds of the spirits were about to
let themselves
be known.

He slept in his fine hides beside his warm fire as the
winds howled
louder and louder, swirling around his tipi until
finally they roared
and spoke his name: ''Cloud Feather.'' He awoke as the
winds swirled
through his home's strong hides and blew his fine
... ]]> 115249 Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:48:10 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/115247.html?rss=1                      The Fight of the Witches (Abenaki)

  Many, many long years ago, there lived in a vast cave in the interior of a
  great mountain, an old man who was a Kiawalkq  m teoulin,  or Giant Witch.

 Near the mountain was a big Indian village, whose chief was named  Hassagwakq
      ,  or the Striped Squirrel. Every few days some of his best warriors
   disappeared mysteriously from the tribe, until Hassagwakq at last became
   convinced that they were killed by the Giant Witch. He therefore called a
  council of all the most mighty magicians among his followers, who gathered
 together in a new strong wigwam made for the occasion. There were ten of them
 in all, and their names were as follows:  Quabit,  the Beaver;  Moskwe,  the
  Wood Worm;  Quagsis,  the Fox;  K tchi Atosis.  The Big Snake;  Agwem,  the
    Loon;  Kosq,  the Heron;  Muin,  the Bear;  Lox,  the Indian Devil;  K
          tchiplagan,  the Eagle; and  Wabe-keloch,  the Wild Goose.
... ]]> 115247 Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:49:20 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/112199.html?rss=1                          Writings from Bear Warrior

                                A Call to Unity


We are a people so proud and so strong
but I see something that is so very wrong,
The white man did us wrong throughout history
but today I'm sad to say we're our worst enemy.
We lead the nation in poverty, drug abuse and suicide
Please lets not lose our dignity, our honor and our pride,
Though the governments against us we do not need to hide
Together we can make a difference will you stand by my side.
I see tribe fighting tribe and clan fighting clan
Its time for us to wake up this is Bureau of Indian Abusers plan,
... ]]> 112199 Sun, 05 Nov 2006 04:09:14 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/87528/108835.html?rss=1                               The Talking Stick

          The Talking Stick is a tool used in many Native American Traditions
          when a council is called. It allows all council members to present
        their Sacred Point of View. The Talking Stick is passed from person to
         person as they speak and only the person holding the stick is allowed
        to talk during that time period. The Answering Feather is also held by
         the person speaking unless the speaker address a question to another
         council member. At that time, the Answering Feather is passed to the
          person asked to answer the query. Every member of the meeting must
          listen closely to the words being spoken, so when their turn comes,
         they do not repeat unneeded information or ask impertinent questions.
         Indian children are taught to listen from age three forward; they are
          also taught to respect another's viewpoint. This is not to say that
          they may not disagree, but rather they are bound by their personal
... ]]> 108835 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:50:23 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/108834.html?rss=1                         How Selfishness was Rewarded
   A young warrior came to the coast with his wife and mother one summer and
 settled in the place where Sitka now stands. It was a summer of hardship for
 the family because the fish stayed away from the coast and the game had moved
 far away over the mountains. The warrior set traps and laid nets in the water
and wandered many miles hunting for food, but he found nothing. The family had
 to eat berries and green sprouts and dig for roots to eat. Even so, there was
               barely enough each day to keep the family going.
The old mother, who was nearly blind, began to lose health and strength as the
days went by with little food. In sharp contrast to this was they pretty young
 wife, who stayed strong and healthy and just picked at her meal each evening.
 This puzzled the young warrior, who felt himself losing his vigor as the days
   went by, but he could find no reason for her good health in this time of
                                  adversity.
 Then his old mother came to her son very early one morning and told him a sad
... ]]> 108834 Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:47:10 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/105587.html?rss=1                              Coyote And The Hare

One day Coyote was passing about when he saw Hare sitting before his house.
Coyote thought, "In a minute I will catch you," and he sprang and caught Hare.
Hare cried, "Man Coyote, do not eat me. Wait just a minute; I have something to
tell you - something you will be glad to hear - something you must hear."
"Well," said Coyote, "I will wait."
"Let me sit at the entrance of my house," said Hare. "Then I can talk to you."
Coyote allowed Hare to take his seat at the entrance.
Hare said, What are you thinking of, Coyote?
"Nothing," said Coyote.
"Listen, then," said Hare. "I am a hare and I am very much afraid of people.
When they come carrying arrows, I am afraid of them. When they see me they aim
their arrows at me and I am afraid, and oh! How I tremble!"
Hare began trembling violently until he saw Coyote a little off his guard, then
... ]]> 105587 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:53:15 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/105585.html?rss=1                   A Native American Style Wedding Ceremony

                         Brief Summary of the Ceremony
  The Native American Wedding Ceremony is one that takes place outdoors, with
 Father Sky as the roof of the most sacred cathedral, and Mother Earth at your
feet to hold you, and the trees and plants to surround you and embrace you. The
circle will be saged by the Minister, Sacred Tobacco given to the grandfathers
 & grandmothers of the plants and stone people as gifts for allowing us to do
                         our ceremony in their space.

 All the guests will be invited into the Medicine Circle - the Sacred Medicine
Wheel that is symbolic of Life and the connection and Continuity of all living
 things. As they enter the Circle, they will be saged (cleansed and purified),
and symbolically enter the womb. For when you leave the circle, you are reborn
 as anew: a married person - not just to each other, but to the family and the
... ]]> 105585 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 23:50:13 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/101710.html?rss=1                           The Guardian of Yosemite

                                    Miowak

For many nights and many days, the guardian spirit of Tisayac watched over the
 beautiful valley of Yosemite. Often, the gentle spirit would drift invisibly
 among the good folk of the valley, and it was during one of these visits that
  she noticed a tall, proud man named Tutokanula. He was a strong leader who
  greatly enhanced the lot of his people, and Tisayac came more often to the
                      valley so that she could watch him.
 One day, Tutokanula was hunting near the place where Tisayac had laid down to
 rest. When she realized the proud leader was close by, the shy spirit peered
  out at him from among the trees. Seeing the beautiful woman with her golden
  hair and ethereal appearance, Tutokanula fell in love. Realizing it was the
 guardian of the valley, he reached out his hands to her, calling her by name.
... ]]> 101710 Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:00:18 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/101709.html?rss=1                               The Spirit Lodge

                          Nariticong, Delaware Nation
 The great chief Quaquahela lived in peace with his people on the banks of the
 River Styx where it entered the lake waters. Their lives were busy and full.
The warriors hunted and fished, the women cooked and cared for the old and the
       young, and all lived in peace with the natural world around them.
  Quaquahela decided one day to visit with a tribe far to the south of their
village. He set out at dusk, paddling across the lake, and then walking inland
towards the lodge of a friend, where he would spend the night before continuing
 his journey. He had gone only a few yards from the lake shore when he heard a
   terrible snarling, and a huge bear came bursting forth out of the bushes
 nearby. Quaquahela was well-armed with his war club and his hunting gear, but
 the bear was his totem, and so it was forbidden for him to kill the creature.
Thus he fled back toward his canoe, trying to escape. But the angry bear threw
... ]]> 101709 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:00:17 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/87528/102034.html?rss=1                     HOW THE FEMALE EAGLE CHOOSES HER MATE

              (As told by the Wintu Tribal Elders of California)

   When it comes time for the female Eagle to choose her mate, she prepares
 herself for many suitors. And many come before her. She looks them over quite
 well and then picks one to fly with for awhile. If she likes the way he flies
she finds a small stick, picks it up and flies high with it. At some point she
will drop the stick to see if the male can catch it. If he does, then she finds
  a larger stick and flies with it much higher this time. Each time the male
catches the sticks, she continues to pick up larger and larger sticks. When she
 finds the largest, heaviest stick that she herself can carry, the stick is at
this point almost the size of a small log! But she can still fly very high with
                               this large stick.

... ]]> 102034 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:52:12 MSD